What made you a Penn State fan, assuming you are one?
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JVP
my math teacher Ralph Morgan who said he was a W/O on at PSU during the Ralph Baker years, I have no reason to doubt him, although I did look on Black Shoes diaries for him and did not find him
1967?? or there abouts
my math teacher Ralph Morgan who said he was a W/O on at PSU during the Ralph Baker years, I have no reason to doubt him, although I did look on Black Shoes diaries for him and did not find him
1967?? or there abouts
Listening to the games with my dad in the 50’s. He was a PSU grad and lettered in boxing. Went to Penn State in 66. My first year was Paterno’s first as head coach.
February of 1987 - 15 minutes after my birth. I was born into it. My love of PSU only increased from then, all due to the greatest educator and molder of young men that ever walked the sidelines.
I grew up a pretty long way from college football, but somehow got interested in PSU maybe around 1966 or so. Wound up in the class of 1972, so I saw those two great Orange Bowl teams in person.
My parents met at PSU….they took me and my brother there when I was five and I became a fan then. Used to watch games with my dad all the time, it was one of the main things we always bonded over. I would give anything to be able to watch one more game with him. My mom is 84 and still watches the games. PSU has been a big part of my life for the past 53 years.
I was an incorrigible delinquent, and I thought the place was called “State Penn”. So I said why not I’ll probably end up there anyway.
Actually both my father and grandfather proceeded me in graduating from PSU so I guess it’s a genetic defect. I’m so old I remember going to games in the 50’s when Rip Engle was the head coach, and Joe was a skinny guy with thick glasses everyone thought was a foreigner.
Actually both my father and grandfather proceeded me in graduating from PSU so I guess it’s a genetic defect. I’m so old I remember going to games in the 50’s when Rip Engle was the head coach, and Joe was a skinny guy with thick glasses everyone thought was a foreigner.
Cousin went there and we spent a weekend in State College when I was in 6th grade to visit him and take in a Syracuse game. From that weekend forward, I was a PSU fan and wanted to attend PSU.
1975- We moved into our house where we currently live. Well, there wasn't any social media, internet, and so forth back then. So, my mom and dad, older brothers and me would plop around in the living room every Saturday at listen to the Penn State game on radio. I remember the first game in '75 was against Temple and how we all sat listening to Temple lead for a good majority of the game. Well, I stayed awake and Penn State won 26-25. From that moment it seemed like this was how we were always going to spend our Saturdays, and it was! The 2024 season will be my 50th season as a Penn State Football Fan.
Though I’ve lived abroad most of my life, born in PA and family has deep roots there. Watched the ‘86 NC game live and always had lots of PSU stuff for some reason. Class of ‘97. Rest is history.
My family would visit friends in Rebersburg and we traveled at night from Archbold, OH. We would pass Pittsburg and I was fascinated by the flames on the steel mills. Saw the U.S. Steel emblem and became a Steelers fan because that’s their emblem. (I was in 5th-6th grade mind you). Early 70’s.
Our friend Earl Robb asked why I liked the Steelers. Ham and Lambert of course.
“If you like LBs, you need to cheer for Linebacker U”.
And, there, you, go.
I’m 62 and haven’t wavered. Son is 23 and has known nothing else. My wife is onboard, but doesn’t follow closely.
OL
Our friend Earl Robb asked why I liked the Steelers. Ham and Lambert of course.
“If you like LBs, you need to cheer for Linebacker U”.
And, there, you, go.
I’m 62 and haven’t wavered. Son is 23 and has known nothing else. My wife is onboard, but doesn’t follow closely.
OL
Like with all my Philly pro teams, it was engrained in me before I can even remember. I never questioned why or when.
I was 15 and was becoming self-aware. It was at that point that self-loathing took hold, so…
Joe Paterno.
I was 12 and I read in the Shamokin News Dispatch that a kid from my home town was a star for PSU coached by Rip Engle. His name was Bernie Sabol, and 7 years later he became my college football coach.
I was 12 and I read in the Shamokin News Dispatch that a kid from my home town was a star for PSU coached by Rip Engle. His name was Bernie Sabol, and 7 years later he became my college football coach.
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I grew up in the Chicago suburbs (Bears fan, White Sox fan, no college football). Met a girl in Lancaster PA on the job. I got the girl only after convincing her dad that I could be a Penn State fan. Since then it has been 40 + years of PSU football. Unfortunately her dad's generation of fans is gone now.
Born and raised die hard ND fan... Dad was double domer, two uncles went there and mother born and raised in South Bend. I had enough of Catholic schools after 12 years and went to Penn state due to aerospace engineering program in fall '83 (PSU defending champs). Took me one game to be completely and forever true blue to the core. Never looked back.
Grew up in Pittsburgh, hated ASWP (for reasons not worth going into) so I naturally became a PSU fan.
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Yeah, my dad and his brothers were big-time Notre Dame fans. Between Boston and Washington they lived in East Orange and would see Notre Dame every time they played in Yankee Stadium. I started off a Notre Dame fan, that faded fast. But I had more than a handful of friends at Penn State who had Notre Dame #1 in their hearts, not too surprising.
The summer of 1961 ( between my Jr and Sr years of high school) I was sponsored by the local American Legion Post to attend Keystone Boys State at Penn State. I was sold by the perfectly manicured grass and there was a lot of it. Before this I had never knowingly watched a college football game. During orientation week of my freshman year I was hooked on PSU football before the first home game against Oregon.
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My older brother graduated from PSU in 1964 (March) and immediately enlisted in the AF. After completing OTS at Lackland AFB was sent to the Middle East. He asked me to keep him up-to-date with Penn State football, and as a loyal brother, I did so.
That fall, the Nittany Lions played the U. of Houston in Houston, and my parents bought me and a family friend who was also from PA tickets to the game. With the help of Joe Vargo's punt return, the team that thouroughly demolishewd the big bad buckeyes 27-0 earlier that year, defeated the Cougars 24-7.
And 60 years later I am still a die-hard fanatic.
That fall, the Nittany Lions played the U. of Houston in Houston, and my parents bought me and a family friend who was also from PA tickets to the game. With the help of Joe Vargo's punt return, the team that thouroughly demolishewd the big bad buckeyes 27-0 earlier that year, defeated the Cougars 24-7.
And 60 years later I am still a die-hard fanatic.
1969. i was four and our family had rented a small house from a local farmer in Danville.
The farmer, Mr Smith, was a fan although he was more of a Rip Engle guy. My fathers engineering colleagues were PSU grads and my dad would pick up some thoughts from them.
So it got soaked in early.
The farmer, Mr Smith, was a fan although he was more of a Rip Engle guy. My fathers engineering colleagues were PSU grads and my dad would pick up some thoughts from them.
So it got soaked in early.
Other than my graduation my poor dad came to SC twice... The 85 ND *** beating in the pouring rain, and the 87 ND loss in sub zero wind chill.
Watching TV Quarterbacks with my dad on WNEP tv, channel 16 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the early to mid-sixties. Saw some guy named Joe Paterno and liked how he approached football and life. Neither of my parents went to college so my older brother and I were the first to go. He majored in pot and never went to a game. Still a waste of space today. I went to every game I could. Paid $19 for my student tickets for the year. Class of 1980.
Ouch. Lol, I just remembered my CSC nun aunt (Saint Mary's grad) responding to my news that Penn State was playing Notre Dame a certain year: "I'm sorry."
Oh, I remember mentioning that my aunt the nun had been in attendance at a Michigan-Notre Dame game in South Bend and Anison (a well-known Michigan poster) replied by saying that he had been at the game as well. Anison said that there had been this nun sitting in front of him who went after the referee with some very un-nun-like language, and he asked, "Sister, was that really necessary?" Of course I had to ask my aunt about this and she said, "A CSC nun would never use such language." lol.
This aunt is my Godmother, she's given me a lot of tough love over the years, never held back.
Yeah, it was Joe Paterno. I grew up in Scranton with a single mom and my brothers and I loved the Paterno teams from the early 70s. TV Quarterbacks on WVIA and Ray Scott narrating Sunday morning highlights ("we join the action later in the quarter"). Went to my first game when my mom scored some tickets to see Penn State-Army in 1975.
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My brother went off to PSU in 1960 when I was soon to turn 4. We would go to see him and attend a game or two a season. So I went to my first game at age 4 (no memory of it), and games thereafter. We would listen to the games on the radio, watch when they were in a bowl game or on TV during the season (rarely in the early 60s).
Bro joined Fiji fraternity, and when we would go to visit I would stay in the house with him. There were a number of football players and other athletes in the house, so it was a thrill for me (age 5 to 7) to meet them and talk with them, and then realize they were playing when I'd watch. So I have been a diehard PSU football and other sports fan for literally as long as I can remember.
When Rip retired, I was 9, and I remember worrying about the guy who was going to replace him -- a mere assistant? Fam and me soon became huge fans of Joe and all he stood for. TV Quarterbacks was must-see TV.
Joining Fiji myself at PSU, living alongside a number of football players and other athletes, and getting to hear the stories and realizing the solid character of most all the guys and understanding that Joe was as genuine and sincere as anyone, made me a huge fan of JVP forever.
Bro joined Fiji fraternity, and when we would go to visit I would stay in the house with him. There were a number of football players and other athletes in the house, so it was a thrill for me (age 5 to 7) to meet them and talk with them, and then realize they were playing when I'd watch. So I have been a diehard PSU football and other sports fan for literally as long as I can remember.
When Rip retired, I was 9, and I remember worrying about the guy who was going to replace him -- a mere assistant? Fam and me soon became huge fans of Joe and all he stood for. TV Quarterbacks was must-see TV.
Joining Fiji myself at PSU, living alongside a number of football players and other athletes, and getting to hear the stories and realizing the solid character of most all the guys and understanding that Joe was as genuine and sincere as anyone, made me a huge fan of JVP forever.
Fellow 1983 Aerospace Engineering freshman.
My first game as a student was JVP’s first game as head coach. I was there for the two undefeated seasons in 68-69 and never looked back. I remember watching Franco on the freshman team, having an economics class with Jack Ham, watching Mike Reid wrestle against Lehigh, and the ritual of wearing a suit and tie to football games, having a date for the game, and taking a pint of Bacardi rum on the inside pocket to mix with the Pepsi in the stands. Those were the good old days.
The uniforms is what got me hooked initially as a kid.
I miss the white trim on home jersey and navy on the white jersey.
I miss the white trim on home jersey and navy on the white jersey.
My big brother was accepted to Penn State in 1965 and we watched the games together. I applied to other colleges but when I received the PSU acceptance letter there was no doubt where I would go. Thought the world of Joe and still do, no one like him and the “Grand Experiment “. The world is a better place because of those he influenced.
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